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Jasmine

Jasmine

Been an avid drama watcher for a long, long time. Grew up watching Chinese drama classics, but ran into a resource problem when we immigrated to the US as a kid, but thankfully family friends came through and I was able to watch Huan Zhu Ge Ge, many of the late 90s/early 2000s wuxia adaptations, and Meteor Garden in 2001 via VHS in the pre-Internet age. Also had cyclical phases later on where I dabbled in and out of C, T, K, and J entertainment, which included dramas as well!

I'm really picky about the dramas that I watch so I always do a lot of research beforehand to see if I like the actors, the genre, and the premise - so most of the dramas that I start I do end up finishing and will rate. Wuxia's the genre that I grew up with and I will forever adore it, and I had a huge idol drama/kpop phase, but I am all about more serious shows now that have a greater emphasis on family, friendship, and life. Give me all the warmth, even if it comes with tears. Romance is fine, but I have a low tolerance for pure romance dramas. I also don't follow dramas as they're airing (usually) - I prefer not having to wait for new episodes (the agony is real) so I can binge watch.

I've recently been really interested in the C-ent (both film and drama) world overall due to how fast it's rising and how different it is from other entertainment circles, so I follow it pretty avidly in terms of new productions, rising stars, industry changes, etc. So basically just been watching C-dramas, movies, and variety shows, but will still occasionally dabble in k-dramas if it's getting a lot of good reviews.

I do have actors and actresses that I love or prefer (as well as production teams and screenwriters), but I won't watch a drama just for an actor/actress if I know the quality isn't up to par or if it's a genre that I'm not interested in.

Favorite dramas ever: Answer Me 1988 (it speaks to me in a way that no other drama has been able to do) and the Nirvana in Fire series (I'm cheating - I just really love the NiF universe - give me another one, Hou Hong Liang!)

Most anticipated drama of 2018: Like a Flowing River (大江大河) - hopefully an official English title comes out soon. Kong Sheng is my favorite Chinese drama director, and he's teamed up with Wang Kai again! Also excited to see Dong Zi Jian in his drama debut - I've really been liking him a lot lately. I have my reservations about Xiao Bao Zong aka Yang Shuo but my mom's been reading the book and she says the character that he's playing is extremely hilarious and likeable. Air date is set for December 2018.

Runner up is Ming Lan (if it airs this year) because it sounds like my cup of tea, though the director makes me a little nervous. I know Daylight Entertainment has such a great rep, but the only director on their team that I really trust is Kong Sheng - even Li Xue can be a miss (see: The Disguiser).

Most anticipated drama of 2019: Novoland - Eagle Flag, because of LHR, yes, but also I read the books and I really enjoyed the plot. It doesn't look like Linmon is planning on going the idol period drama route with this one, so I'm relieved. Also that supporting cast...

Favorite actors (this changes depending on the drama that I'm in love with atm): At the moment, it's 100% 20 year old Liu Hao Ran. Watched his first variety show back in 2015 (Real Men Season 1, which was phenomenal) and really liked how mature and intelligent the kid was then, but didn't really follow his later works. At the end of 2017, I watched a combination of the variety show Give Me Five and NiF2 and can't believe how far he's come. He's got an unbelievably bright future (the rare combination of talent + luck + resources so his fans never have to worry about his projects). There are a loooot of eyes on him right now (and this will only increase as his career grows), but he's got a good head on his shoulders and I can't wait to see what his next project is.